Method and system for performing reverse osmosis with brine recirculation and energy recovery

ABSTRACT

A reverse osmosis system includes a membrane housing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing comprising a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a first pump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pump portion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet through the first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a second portion of brine toward a drain through a brine control valve.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 16/780,254, filedFeb. 3, 2020 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,766,002) which is a non-provisionalapplication of U.S. Ser. No. 62/800,667, filed Feb. 4, 2019, thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to reverse osmosis systems,and, more specifically, to a method and system for providing brinerecirculation during a reverse osmosis process.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Reverse osmosis systems use a membrane to separate a stream of liquid(feed) containing dissolved solids into two streams. The first stream isa pure liquid that is formed by passing fluid through the membrane ofthe reverse osmosis system. A second stream of liquid also leaves themembrane housing 12 and has a higher concentration of dissolved solids,which is referred to as brine or reject.

Before reaching the membrane housing 12, the liquid, such as sea water,has been filtered so that large suspended particles have been removed.It has been found that by recirculating a portion of the brine with andincoming feed to the membrane, the amount of permeate to be extractedfrom a given volume of feed membrane performance can be increased.Providing the brine to the feed input is referred to as “brinerecirculation”. Typically, the pressure differential between the feedand the brine is relatively small (about 1 bar to 3 bar).

Systems that operate at very high pressures (exceeding 100 bar) oftenrequire brine recirculation. Consequently, the equipment used in suchsystems must be designed for accommodating such pressures. Typically, toaccommodate high pressures, the rating of the pump must be suitable toaccommodate the pressures. Also, the shaft seals for high pressure pumpsare prone to frequent failures. Special motors must also be provided tohandle high thrust loads generated by the high working pressure. Suchsystems are also prone to premature bearing failure. Variable frequencydrives are also required for driving the external motors to allowvariations in the flow rates. All of these features add to the expenseand complexity of the reverse osmosis system.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a reverse osmosis system 10 according to theprior art is set forth. The reverse osmosis system 10 has a reverseosmosis membrane housing 12 that has a membrane 14 disposed therein. Themembrane housing 12 has a feed fluid input 12A, a brine fluid outlet12B, and a permeate outlet 12C. As briefly mentioned above, feed fluidenters the feed fluid input 12A and, with the membrane 14, divides thefluid into a permeate stream exiting the membrane housing 12 at thepermeate outlet 12C and a brine stream at the brine outlet 12B. Feedfluid is provided to the feed fluid inlet 12A through a high pressurepump 16. A valve 18 may be used to regulate the feed pressure in theflow rate.

The brine outlet 12B and the brine therein may be controlled by a valve22. The depressurized brine is disposed in a drain 20.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a recirculation pump 30 may be disposed in arecirculation pipe 32 so that a portion of the brine exiting through thebrine outlet 12B is communicated to the feed fluid inlet 12A. Acombination of the recirculated brine and the brine from the feed pump16 enter the feed fluid inlet 12A of the membrane housing 12.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the reverse osmosis system may also include aturbocharger 40 coupled to the brine outlet 12B by a pipe 42. Inparticular, the turbocharger 40 includes a turbine portion 40T and apump portion 40P. The turbine portion 40T receives brine through thepipe 42 through a valve 46. The valve 46 provides flow and pressureregulation. The valve 46 and the turbine portion 40T receive the brinefluid, which operatively turns the turbine within the turbine portion40T and thus provides a rotating force to the pump 40P. Feed fluid fromthe high pressure pump 16 and the valve 18 is received in the pumpportion 40P. The pressure is increased to a level needed for themembrane 14 for optimal operation. The pressurized feed fluid that hasbeen pressurized by the pump 16 and the pump portion 40P is receivedwithin the feed fluid inlet 40A. The purpose of the turbocharger 40 isto reduce the discharge pressure of the high pressure pump 16 to reduceenergy. A pump with a lower pressure rating is also less costly. Theshaft 48 between a motor 50 and the turbine portion 40T must include ashaft seal. The shaft penetrating the housing of the turbocharger 40 maybe a source of potential shaft leakage regardless of the operatingpressure. The motor 50 is driven by a variable frequency drive 52.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a method and system for an improvedreverse osmosis system with brine recirculation in an energy efficientmanner.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a reverse osmosis system and a methodof operating the same includes a membrane housing comprising a reverseosmosis membrane therein. The membrane housing has a feed fluid inlet, abrine outlet and a permeate outlet. A first turbocharger has a firstpump portion and a first turbine portion. The brine outlet is coupled toa first pipe directing a first portion of brine to the first pumpportion. The first pump portion is in fluid communication with the feedfluid inlet. A feed pump communicates feed fluid to the feed fluidinlet. The brine outlet is coupled to a second pipe directing a secondportion of brine away from the first pump portion.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating a reverseosmosis system that has a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and apermeate outlet. The method has the steps of fluidically communicating afirst portion of brine from the brine outlet to a first pump portion ofa turbocharger, fluidically communicating the first portion of the brinefrom the first pump portion to the feed fluid inlet, fluidicallycommunicating feed fluid from a feed pump to the feed fluid inlet andcommunicating a second portion of brine away from the first pump portionthrough a second pipe.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a reverse osmosis system according to theprior art.

FIG. 2 is a second example of a reverse osmosis system according to theprior art.

FIG. 3 is a third example of a reverse osmosis system with an energyrecovery device according to the prior art.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a first example of a reverse osmosissystem according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a second example of a reverse osmosissystem according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a third example of a reverse osmosissystem according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Forpurposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in thedrawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, the phrase atleast one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or Bor C), using a non-exclusive logical or. It should be understood thatsteps within a method may be executed in different order withoutaltering the principles of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a reverse osmosis system is illustrated. Thesame components from the prior discussed reverse osmosis systems arelabeled the same. In this system, the brine outlet 12B is coupled to afirst pipe 60 and a second pipe 62. The first pipe 60 communicates aportion of the brine fluid from the brine outlet 12B to the valve 46 andinto the turbine portion 40T. The outlet of the turbine portion 40Tenters the drain 20. In this example, the turbine portion 40T providesenergy to the pump portion 40P. In this example, a second pipe 62communicates a portion of brine fluid from the brine outlet 12B througha valve 64 which allows fluid to communicate into the pump portion 40P.The portion of the brine fluid in the pipe 60 is used for increasing thepressure of a second portion of the brine fluid within the pipe 62 thattravels through the pump portion 40P. The pressurized fluid from thepump portion 40P travels through a pipe 66 and to the feed fluid inlet12A where it is mixed with the feed fluid from the high pressure pump 16and the valve 18. The control valve 5 may be used to control the amountof brine flow and pressure through the pipe 60. The recirculation flowcan be regulated by the valve 64 in the pipe 62.

The advantages of the system set forth in FIG. 4 include the benefits ofeliminating a high-pressure shaft seal and the electric motor such asthose illustrated in FIG. 3. Also, the energy is recovered from thebrine stream that would otherwise be dissipated through the brinecontrol valve 22 illustrated above. The system of FIG. 4 works under theconditions where the recirculation flow and the brine flow are similar.The system is less efficient when the recirculation flow and the brineflow through the pipe 60 are relatively close in volume rate and thepressure drop in the turbine portion 40T is relatively close thepressure rise in the pumps portion 40P.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a reverse osmosis system is fluidically coupledin a different manner. In this example, the brine outlet 12B is directedto a first pipe 70 which leads to the drain 20. A second pipe 72 fromthe brine outlet 12B is in communication with the pump portion 40P ofthe turbocharger 40. The brine fluid pressurized at the pump portion 40Pis communicated to the feed fluid inlet 12A through a pipe 74.

The feed fluid from the high pressure pump 16 and the valve 18 iscommunicated to the turbine portion 40T of the turbocharger 40 throughthe valve 46. The pressure in the feed fluid is used to pressurize thebrine recirculation fluid that is received through the pipe 72 andultimately from the brine outlet 12B. The pipe 76 communicates the feedfluid from the turbine portion 40T to the inlet 12A. In operation, theturbocharger turbine portion 40T is handling a much larger flow whichhas a lower differential than the embodiments illustrated above. Becausethe flow and pressure differential through the pump portion 40P is closeto that of the turbine portion 40T, a higher efficiency and morereliable operation may be provided. One drawback, however, is that someof the energy of the brine fluid through the pipe 70 is dissipated inthe control valve 22 and thus is not used.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a second turbocharger 80 is coupled to the pipe70 illustrated above. An integral valve 82 and the turbine portion 80Tof the turbocharger 80 may be incorporated to help regulate the flowthrough the turbine portion 80T. Thus, a portion of the brine fluid fromthe brine outlet 12B travels through the integral valve 82 into theturbine portion 80T where the energy therein is removed. Thede-energized brine fluid is ultimately communicated to the drain 20. Thepump portion 80P of the second turbocharger 80 is in fluid communicationwith the feed pump 16 and the valve 18 through the pipe 84. The energyfrom the brine fluid within the pipe 70 is used to rotate the turbineportion 80T which in turn adds pressure to the feed fluid from the pipe84. The pressurized fluid from the pipe 84 travels to the pump portion80P where the pressure is increased then travels through a pipe 86 tothe turbine 40T. In contrast to FIG. 5, the feed fluid is firstpressurized at the pump portion 80P where some of the brine pressure isconverted into pressurizing the feed fluid. Pipe 86 fluidicallycommunicates the pressurized feed fluid to the turbine portion 40T ofthe turbocharger 40 through the valve 46. In FIG. 6 brine energyrecovery is performed. A full utilization of the brine hydraulic energyis used at the second turbocharger 80 while allowing brine recirculationusing the turbocharger 40.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the disclosure can beimplemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosureincludes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure shouldnot be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to theskilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification andthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A reverse osmosis system comprising: a membranehousing comprising a reverse osmosis membrane therein, said membranehousing comprising a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeateoutlet; a first turbocharger comprising a first pump portion and a firstturbine portion; said brine outlet coupled to a first pipe directing afirst portion of brine to the first pump portion; said first pumpportion in fluid communication with the feed fluid inlet; and a feedpump communicating feed fluid to the feed fluid inlet through the firstturbine portion; said brine outlet coupled to a second pipe directing asecond portion of brine toward a drain through a brine control valve. 2.The reverse osmosis system of claim 1 wherein the feed pump isfluidically coupled to the first turbine portion through a first flowcontrol valve.
 3. The reverse osmosis system of claim 2 wherein thefirst flow control valve is integrally formed with the first turbineportion.
 4. The reverse osmosis system of claim 2 wherein the feed pumpis coupled to the first turbine portion through a feed control valve inseries with the first flow control valve.
 5. The reverse osmosis systemof claim 1 wherein the feed pump is coupled to the first turbine portionthrough a feed control valve.
 6. A method of operating a reverse osmosissystem having a feed fluid inlet, a brine outlet and a permeate outlet,said method comprising: fluidically communicating a first portion ofbrine from the brine outlet to a first pump portion of a turbochargerthrough a first pipe; fluidically communicating the first portion of thebrine from the first pump portion to the feed fluid inlet; fluidicallycommunicating feed fluid from a feed pump to the feed fluid inletthrough a first turbine portion of a turbocharger; and communicating asecond portion of brine from the first pump portion to a drain through asecond pipe and a brine control valve.
 7. The method of claim 6 furthercomprising communicating feed fluid from the feed pump to the feed fluidinlet through a first flow control valve.
 8. The method of claim 6further comprising communicating feed fluid from the feed pump to thefeed fluid inlet through integrally formed with the first turbineportion.
 9. The method of claim 6 further comprising communicating feedfluid from the feed pump to the feed fluid inlet through a feed controlvalve.
 10. The method of claim 6 further comprising communicating feedfluid from the feed pump to the feed fluid inlet through a feed controlvalve in series with a first flow control valve.
 11. The method of claim6 further comprising communicating feed fluid from the feed pump to thefeed fluid inlet through a feed control valve in series with a firstflow control valve integrally formed with the first turbine portion.